| Roper v. Simmons | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued October 13, 2004 Decided March 1, 2005 | |
| Full case name | Donald P. Roper, Superintendent, Potosi Correctional Center, Petitioner v. Christopher Simmons |
| Docket no. | 03-633 |
| Citations | 543 U.S. 551 (more) 125 S. Ct. 1183; 161 L. Ed. 2d 1; 2005 U.S. LEXIS 2200; 73 U.S.L.W. 4153; 18 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 131 |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Defendant convicted, motion for postconviction relief denied, Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Missouri; affirmed, State v. Simmons, 944 S.W.2d 165 (Mo. 1997) (en banc), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 953 (1997). Denial of petition for a writ of habeas corpus affirmed, Simmons v. Bowersox, 235 F.3d 1124 (8th Cir. 2001), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 924 (2001). Petition for a writ of habeas corpus granted, State ex rel. Simmons v. Roper, 112 S.W.3d 397 (Mo. 2003) (en banc), cert. granted, 540 U.S. 1160 (2004). |
| Holding | |
| The Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments forbid imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed. Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed, and Stanford v. Kentucky overruled. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Kennedy, joined by Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer |
| Concurrence | Stevens, joined by Ginsburg |
| Dissent | O'Connor |
| Dissent | Scalia, joined by Rehnquist, Thomas |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amends. VIII, XIV | |
This case overturned a previous ruling or rulings | |
| Stanford v. Kentucky (1989) | |
Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held that it is unconstitutional to impose capital punishment for crimes committed while under the age of 18.[1] The 5–4 decision overruled Stanford v. Kentucky, in which the court had upheld execution of offenders at or above age 16, and overturned statutes in 25 states.